Comprehensive Guide to Make Mozilla Firefox Faster

Mozilla "Firefox" is a good browser, but its default settings are not as optimized as they should be. There are many tweaks and tricks which we can use to speed things up and I will list them here.

Although, before you make any changes I would recommend "Mozbackup" (link provided in Resources), which will back up your profile so we can restore it if anything goes wrong during the process. Better safe than sorry, right?

The Basics

1. Do not add too many extensions to Firefox, this is a surefire way to slow things down.
2. Do not install unnecessary toolbars. If you need to use search then use the built in search box next to the address bar.
3. Make sure all your browser plug-ins like Flash and Silverlight are updated.
4. Make sure the Java software on your system is updated.
5. Install "Adblock" "Flashblock" and "ImglikeOpera" to block unnecessary ads, flash elements and images that bloat websites, which in turn, make things slow.
6. Keep Firefox updated.

The Main Stuff

Type 'about:config' in a blank tab and press enter. You will see a warning which will ask you if you want to continue, click on "I promise I'll be careful"

A page will show up with lots of different name and numbers. This is the guts of the Firefox browser and if we mess things up here then the browser might stop functioning, but don't worry, I will hold your hand along the way.

1. Type network.http.pipelining in the filter bar, the option should appear in the main window. Double-click on the value to change it to "True" and Change the following values 'network.http.proxy.pipelining, network.http.pipelining.ssl' to "True"

2. Right-click on a blank space, point to "New" and click "Boolean" type the name 'network.http.pipelining.firstrequest' in the box, click okay. A window will appear, click "True" and then click "OK"

3. Type 'network.http.pipelining.maxrequests' in the filter and the option should load in the window. Double-click and change its value to "8".

4. Right Click on a blank page, point to "New" click on "Integer" and type 'nglayout.initialpaint.delay' then press okay and give it a value of "0"

5. Create another new integer with the name 'content.notify.interval' and give it a value of "0"

6. Set the value of 'network.http.max-connections' to 96

7. Set the value of 'network.http.max-connections-per-server' to 32

8. Set the value of 'network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-server' to "8"

9. Set the value of 'javascript.options.jit.chrome' to "True" (Firefox 3.5+ only)

10. Change 'browser.history_expire_days' to 28

11. Change 'browser.history_expire_days_min' to 28

12. Change 'browser.history_expire_sites' to 5000

Now finally you have to optimize your SQLite databases:

Download IniFox (Link provided in Resources) and extract the files into your Firefox profile folder.

In Windows XP, your profile folder is in C:\Documents and Settings\(your username)\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\(randomletters).default.

In Windows Vista & Windows 7, your profile folder is in C:\Users\(your username)\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\(randomletters.default)

I would have listed instructions for Linux and Mac OS X but I have not tried this trick on those systems and I don't think it is right to recommend something I have not tried myself. Still, if you are using either of those systems, I have placed a link to those instructions in the resources.

Make sure that the Firefox browser is closed. Press CTRL+ALT+DEL and click on the "Processes" tab. Check all the running programs to see if "firefox.exe" is running. If it is not running then you're good to go, if it is running then wait for it to shut down completely or right-click on the browser name and click "End Process".

Run the Inifox.bat file. It should open a command window where it will show you what it is doing. After it finishes, close the window.

After you have finished, restart the program to make the changes take effect.

An easier way to defragment the SQlite databases is to use the add on "Vacuum Places Improved" it is an experimental project which you can download from the mozilla add-on site and I have found it to work quite well.

Congratulations! You have successfully optimized your browser. Firefox will perform much faster now.

Other Weird Stuff you can try

If you are still not satisfied with Firefox's performance then you can try our the following:

Load Firefox at Windows Startup

Download and Install "Firefox Preloader" (Link provided in Resources) This will load parts of Firefox into Windows and will make the boot up time faster.

Compress Firefox

Let me say right off that I do not recommend this. This procedure means compressing and making Firefox.exe and other files smaller. Side-effects can include increased CPU load, extensions breaking and inability to install Firefox upgrades unless you decompress first. It also destabilizes Firefox Preloader.

It would be best to try out all the other tricks listed above and forget about this because it can cause way too many problems. But if you still want to do it then here are the instructions:

Make sure Firefox is closed.

Uninstall Firefox Preloader if you have it.

Download UPX (Link provided in Resources) unzip "upx.exe" to "C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox" or where you have installed Firefox.

Open "Command Prompt" by typing "cmd" into Windows Run box and click okay.

Type the prompt cd "c:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox" (with the quotes) and click enter.

Type the following prompt: 'for %v in (*.exe *.dll components\*.dll plugins\*.dll) do upx "C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\%v' and click enter.

There, you're done.

Re-launch your browser and it should start up faster.

Now don't forget to disable automatic updates. If a new version releases and you have to install it, then you have to decompress Firefox before upgrading. The following instructions explain how to do it:

Close Firefox and make sure its closed.

Open "Command Prompt" by typing "cmd" into Windows Run box and click okay.

Type the prompt: cd "c:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox" (with the quotes) and click enter.

Type the following prompt: 'for %v in (*.exe *.dll components\*.dll plugins\*.dll) do upx -d "C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\%v"

Now start Firefox, click on help then click on "Check for Updates" and follow the onscreen instructions. After you have installed Firefox and restarted, close the browser and re-compress the executables.

There that's it. You now have a fully optimized and much faster Firefox Web Browser. Take care, good luck and happy surfing!

Sources:
https://wiki.mozilla.org/
http://www.mozillazine.org/
Optimize SQLite http://webupd8.blogspot.com/2009/07/increase-firefox-3-perormance-by.html